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At about two meters tall, the hulking Abyssin had long limbs and a single large eye that dominated their greenish-tan foreheads. Typically well-muscled, the Abyssin had a slightly hunched appearance. A distinctive trait of the Abyssin was their ability to heal quickly and regenerate any body part, which some believe contributed to an especially violent racial culture. Their fast regeneration is believed to have been an adaptation to prevent fluid loss from bleeding. Abyssin body cells were replaced every 80 hours and organs which typically were paired in other species appeared singularly in the Abyssin body. Because of their regenerative abilities, Abyssin could live up to 300 standard years.[1]

A primitive tribal society, the Abyssin of Byss were known as violent and brutish and their planet was avoided by most beings in the civilized galaxy. On the arid planet of Byss, unstable resources did not allow for mass population growth or for the stabilization of a central government, economy or trade system. Existing simply in nomadic tribes, the Abyssin groups could and did interact peacefully with one another through trading, though only if both groups had plentiful water and food supplies. Otherwise, they began a 'Blooding', a brawl which ended only when one tribe's warriors were all killed, captured, or incapacitated. Warriors who survived a Blooding were usually allowed to join the winning tribe once they finished their regeneration. This tradition led to some violent incidents when spacers tried to trade with Abyssin tribes with scarce water resources, especially since the Abyssin assumed the alien traders could regenerate as quickly as they did. Elderly Abyssin lost these regenerative abilities, and either voluntarily exiled themselves to die in the desert or were ritually killed by their tribe.[1]

The Abyssin (language) consisted of grunts and growls while they used hieroglyphs to communicate in written form. Abyssin did not keep family names and typically were known only by a single name. Examples of Abyssin names included Anami, Easym, Mador, and Polcyc.[2]

Discovered during the Kymoodon Era by Arconan scouts hailing from the Galactic Republic, the Abyssin were greatly distrustful of the explorers when they attempted to create a dialogue with them. Rebuffing all attempts to establish relations with the Arcona, the Abyssin finally relented and the Arcona shared their desert survival techniques in order to establish trust and respect. While the Abyssin had no desire to leave their homeworld, the travelers who had heard of the planet's strong, vicious warriors flocked to acquire slaves. Rarely impacting the galactic political or economic climate, the Abyssin have fought on the side of the Republic and its opponents throughout the course of history.[8] By the time of the Galactic Empire's rise to power, a number of Abyssin lived on Phaeda[9] and Dubrava.[10]